Kyle Lowry has found himself dealing with a back injury that's already caused him to miss time throughout the 2018-19 season.

Despite returning to the court on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers, it could be a situation that gets worse before it gets better. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, Lowry's back could be an "ongoing concern" throughout the the season and Lowry himself even admitted that it's "a tough situation."

But Lowry's back will very likely be an ongoing concern, it seems safe to assume, for two reasons: One is the obvious – when his back flares up or is even threatening to flare up, he can't play and the Raptors need him on the floor. The other is that when it does give him problems to the point he has to miss games, it's a significant setback that extends beyond his return to the floor. Every time his back acts up, Lowry has to shut things down.

Lowry has already missed 12 games this season, but did make his way back to the lineup after initially being listed as doubtful against the Sixers. The veteran guard ended up scoring 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting while dishing out six assists in 35 minutes in a 119-107 Toronto victory.

It's also worth noting that the Raptors have been attempting to move Lowry with the trade deadline approaching. According to a report from Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated, Toronto offered Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, but Memphis ended up rejecting that proposal.

Lowry certainly could be a liability for the Raptors if he's unable to stay on the floor down the stretch. It's obviously a huge storyline and something that Lowry himself is truly thinking about.

"I couldn't do anything [while I was out]," Lowry said. "It was a challenge [because] I couldn't move. So that sucks. It was just keeping it in your mind that you know it's going to come back at some point. [But] you can't work out. Can't do nothing. It's a tough situation.

"You lose everything -- not everything, but you lose a lot," Lowry added. "You lose your strength, you lose your conditioning, you lose your legs, you lose your bounce, you lose all that."

The Raptors, back in action on Thursday against the Hawks (7:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), are currently one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and currently trail the Milwaukee Bucks by just 1.5 games for the top spot. If Lowry ends up staying healthy, it's clear what type of damage he can do and how important he truly is to this team.